


Sun, Sand, & Surprises

by ArlieAshryver



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-02
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:07:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25664116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArlieAshryver/pseuds/ArlieAshryver
Summary: Two months after the end of Hermione’s eighth year, she finds herself nursing a broken heart and completely unsure of life going forward. Hoping a vacation can give her a much-needed break and some clarity, she books a trip to the Caribbean.After nearly being crushed to death by a wayward wall, Fred is having trouble getting back into his inventions. Not one to do anything by half, Fred decides some in person research is needed.What should be a typical summer vacation turns interesting when the two meet on a tropical island full of possibilities.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley
Comments: 22
Kudos: 35
Collections: Fremione Fanatics' Summer Fic Fest!





	1. Barbados

**Author's Note:**

> Artistic thanks to the Amanda Boothe for the cover, your stuff is amazing!
> 
> Beta thanks to the incredibly talented MrsRen! Major thanks for looking over my story while pumping out even more great fics!
> 
> Trigger warnings will be posted in the notes for each chapter.

The sky over London had been grey off and on for three days and, as a light drizzle began to fall, Hermione felt it fit her current state of mind perfectly. She had been wandering the area near her flat hoping the fresh air would clear her mind. Unfortunately, she felt just as stuck and sad as she was before the walk. The war had ended just over a year ago and she still felt like she was fighting, maybe not for her life in a physical sense, but she was still fighting to carve out a niche for herself in the new world. She had returned to Hogwarts to complete her NEWTs with some semblance of a plan and a boyfriend, but had ended the year single, rethinking everything she had thought she wanted out of life. 

Hermione grimaced as she felt her socks soak through just before she reached the door to her building. Fitting. It had been a rough two months since she finished her last year at Hogwarts- what should have been her seventh had been dubbed ‘eighth year’ among her peer group. Her boyfriend had broken her heart not after, but  _ during  _ graduation and now she was floundering. Hermione Granger always had a plan when it came to saving the world but now? Now she didn’t have a plan for her life. She had received offers at the ministry, but that was where he worked and she didn’t think she was ready for than confrontation. 

“Oh, nice to see you. How is work? How is it knowing that you ripped my heart out and my other friends are too busy to notice? Great, nice chat. Ta.” 

No, she was definitely not ready for that. Flicking on the television, Hermione peeled off her wet socks and sent them to her laundry basket, intent on getting a cup of tea before deciding what to watch but she frowned at the commercial playing. 

“The air was thick with perfume…” It was one she had seen a hundred times but this time… “A marriage of Victorian elegance and Caribbean soul.” 

Caribbean soul. Blue waters, white sand beaches, no socks to get wet. Hermione sank down onto her chaise in thought. Perhaps a holiday was exactly what she needed to clear her mind, one to a place so far removed from the wizarding world that nobody would recognize her or ask about her job (or lack thereof) or who she was dating (a big fat no one) or why she had not been seen with the other members of the ‘Golden Trio’ recently (ridiculous).

.oOo.

The rain that had been threatening for the past few days was finally pelting Fred's tiny bedroom window. He was laying on his bed tossing his latest project in the air, catching the heavy round crystal before it reached his face. He had been working on the Featherlight Fantasy for months now but he was in a rut. It was the first product he has started developing after he got out of hospital, hoping to make a sort of physical daydream product. Laying in a bed all day was boring and the healers refused to let him use any daydream charms in case they interfered with his concussion, so he had begun planning a product that would allow the user to feel like they were in a location such as the beach while keeping their mental faculties. If he had been able to write potions essays surrounded by warm sand and blue water, he may have actually met the length requirements. 

Tossing the (not so light) Featherlight Fantasy above his head once more, he was startled when his brother burst through the door shouting his name. 

“Fred!”

The momentary distraction was enough for the orb to slip through his fingers.

“Fucking ow!” He cried, hand clasped to his aching eye and glared at his brother. 

“Still having trouble with the Patented Portable Daydream Projector then?”

“Featherlight Fantasy.” Fred corrected.

George rolled his eyes. “Right mate, and your eye isn’t turning black as we speak.” 

“It  _ will _ be feather light after I get the other charms right. I’m still having trouble getting the crystal to project the proper image. Watch.”

Fred summoned the fallen crystal ball from under the nightstand and concentrated on a warm sandy beach. “Anima mea somnium!” Instead, his room was filled with grey clouds and harsh wind. 

“Make it stop!” George bellowed through the mist and Fred muttered the counter phrase, blinking as his shivering brother came in to focus. 

“I take it your heart’s desired vision is not a storm to freeze a bloke’s balls off?”

Fred laughed. “Close, it’s actually a beach.”

Rubbing his chin, George nodded. “ Nothing for it then, Forge. You obviously have no idea what a tropical beach is and therefore more research is needed. No,” George held his hand up when Fred started to speak. “What you need is a holiday. And not just any holiday, but a Caribbean holiday! Bright sun, sandy beaches, hot girls, beautiful ocean,  _ hot girls!” _

“Sounds great mate, but how exactly are we supposed to take a holiday right now. Shop is busy with the summer rush.” It was Fred’s turn to rub his chin as he pretended to be deep in thought. In reality, he was feeling a bit smothered since his brush with an overeager wall. 

“We could go in September, after Hogwarts is back in session. I know you wanted to get this ready for the new term but…”

“No!” Fred cut George off by grabbing his shoulders and shaking his brother. “A holiday is exactly what the doctor ordered so a holiday I shall have.” He stood, placing his hand over his heart. “A sacrifice must be made. I, Frederick Gideon Weasley, will take a holiday for the both of us in order to complete this terribly important research. What exactly does tropical sun feel like?”

Fred didn’t like the flash of hurt in his brother’s eyes, but he needed this. Now that the thought was in his head, it wouldn’t leave. He needed time away from all the hovering and Godric be damned if he wasn’t going to get his holiday. 

“Don’t worry, brother mine. I’ll scope out the best island for you and Angie to visit this September while I hold down the shop. Fair?” 

.oOo.

For once in her life, Hermione had leapt without a plan. The day after seeing the commercial, she had entered a travel agency to book a trip to a far away tropical place and they had done the rest. Flight, lodging, even a mock itinerary with a list of sights to see, all Hermione had to do was give them money and show up to the airport at the proper time and less than a week later she was getting off a plane on the small tropical island of Barbados. It was a relief to stretch her legs after an eight-and-a-half-hour flight. It wasn’t nearly as bad as her failed trip to Australia: an endless flight culminating in an unsuccessful attempt to return her parents memories followed by another endless flight.

Hermione shook her head. She had come to Barbados to forget the problems back home; less than five minutes after landing and she was already failing that task. Focusing on the problem at hand, she was relieved to find her hotel was only twenty minutes away from the airport by cab. Maybe she would take a walk around the resort after checking in. And then she walked outside. Merlin, it was hot! The jeans she’d worn to stay warm on the plane and light long sleeve wrap were stifling in the tropical heat and she could feel the sun’s warmth radiating down on her. Skip the walk, she was going for a swim as soon as she could change. 

An hour later and Hermione finally felt herself relax. The hotel was beautiful, her room exceeded all expectations, and she was sitting in a submerged seat at the swim up bar feeling at ease in the tropical sun. 

“Another cocktail miss?” At the bartender’s deep voice Hermione opened her eyes and nodded eagerly.

“Please.”

“Coming right up hon, soon as I finish this drink.”

Hermione smiled as she sipped the last of her Foxy Roxy, glancing in the direction of the other patron who had swum up while she was distracted and promptly choked her drink. 

“Hello there, love.” 

“Fred?” She managed to wheeze out. 

He made a show of looking around and smirked. “I don’t see Fred anywhere, but it's sweet he’s the first one you think of when you see one of us.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and scooted over a seat so that she was close enough to brush the hair away from his ears. “That’s what I thought, Fred.” She emphasized his name as she glared at him.

His face split into a wide grin and Hermione couldn’t help but smile back a moment before she registered the fact that she had left London to get away from everything and more importantly everyone she knew, yet here was Fred Weasley perched next to her in a swimming pool on a tropical island. It was the sort of thing she may have chalked up to heatstroke had she actually gone on that walk she had been thinking about earlier. 

“What are you doing here?” 

She knew Fred picked up on the disappointed tone in her voice when his smile slipped into an irritated frown. “What, ruining big plans away with your boyfriend?” 

It took a moment to process what exactly he had said but when she did, it was like a slap in the face and she saw red. 

“How dare you bring him up!” Hermione screeched at him, incensed at how hurtful Fred was being. 

“Hey, why are you yelling at me?” Fred’s angry look was replaced by one of horror. “Merlin, he didn’t stand you up, did he?” 

Hermione blinked at him, trying to decide if he was taking the mickey. She hoped he wasn’t teasing her, he had never been so cruel in the past. Finally she asked quietly, “Did you not know we’d broken up?”

Fred shook his head. “Obviously not or I wouldn’t have brought it up. Been a little out of the social loop for…” He swallowed. “A while.”

She nodded and turned away. Some time during their chat the barkeeper had slid both of their drinks in front of them before retreating to the opposite end of the bar. She couldn’t blame the man for that, there was awkwardness radiating from their corner. 

Sipping her new drink, she glanced at Fred. He was staring into his drink, an uncharacteristically dark look on his face. Maybe she had overreacted, but it was still too fresh and the Prophet had the nasty affair splashed all over its pages in the following weeks. He would have had to have been living under a rock not to know the drama, not to mention his family should have filled him in. Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen Fred since visiting him in hospital over a year ago. 

“Can we try again?” 

His voice brought her out of her thoughts and she glanced over. He raised a brow and she sighed. 

“I may have reacted to that question poorly…” He scoffed loudly and she shot him a glare before continuing. “Can we just say things ended in a spectacular way and I don’t want to talk about it?” 

He let out a low whistle. “I guess George was right about me being out of it the past few months.” 

It was Hermione’s turn to raise a brow as she waited for Fred to continue. 

He downed his drink before talking again. “Can I just say that things have been a bit off since waking up from that coma?” 

She nodded and turned back to her drink. “I came here to get away from England. Maybe we could just pretend we never saw each other?” 

“If that’s what you want.” Fred shook his head as the bartender came over and moved away from the bar. “Hey, Granger?” 

She turned to face the redhead as he poised on the edge of the seat. 

“If you change your mind, the front desk knows where to find me.” Hermione’s narrowed eyes widened as her brain processed what he was about to do but it was too late. Fred launched himself off the seat into the pool creating a splash that washed over Hermione. 

“Fred!” She shrieked but he was already swimming away, his laugh reaching her ears when he came up for air. Honestly, the man was a child. 


	2. Harrison’s Cave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, huge thanks to MrsRen for catching my chronic lack of commas. 
> 
> Trigger Warning: Panic Attack

Bright sun filtered through gauzy white curtains, drawing Hermione from sleep. She stretched languidly to the tune of doves cooing outside her window and couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction. It was the best sleep she’d had in weeks, the unfamiliar setting of her gorgeous hotel room held no reminders of the ex-who-shall-not-be-named and her lengthy swim had left her pleasantly tired. After what had to be a record setting splash from Fred, she had no reason to keep her hair dry after having half thoroughly soaked so she spent the remainder of the afternoon swimming in the lap pool. 

Fred.

She wondered what he was doing here of all places and whether George was lurking somewhere else in the pool having a laugh at her expense. The two of them were hard enough to separate before the battle but after? It seemed like George had been glued to Fred's side; however, that begged the question of who was minding the shop and... Hermione shook her head before her thoughts could run away with her once again. She was here to forget Britain and thinking about the redhead who once held more of her attention than Ron was not accomplishing that goal. She didn't want to think about Fred Weasley and she certainly did not wish to run into him today. She did not. 

She did.

Hermione was enjoying a perfectly lovely morning in one of the hotel’s restaurants, a cup of tea and plate of lightly spiced bakes in front of her as she read. She was reaching for one more when a freckled hand swooped into her line of vision and plucked the pastry from the plate. 

She whipped around to glare at the owner of the offending appendage and met the mirthful gaze of Fred Weasley. She was certain the only reason he didn’t have a stupid quip was because he had stuffed the entire bake into his mouth. 

“Do you mind?” 

He apparently wasn’t deterred by her frosty tone, as he finished chewing and grinned at her in a way that always used to make her stomach flip. “Just a little something to tide me over until my own breakfast arrives. I’m sure you understand, wouldn’t want me wasting away into nothing.”

Hermione scoffed. “Please, if I were you I certainly wouldn’t be worried about something like that.” She poked at his middle for emphasis. His admittedly firm middle, but she wasn’t going to say  _ that  _ out loud. 

“Ouch Granger, when did you get to be so cruel?” He asked as he reached for another pastry only to have his hand slapped away. 

“Go find your own table.” She snapped as she snagged another bake and turned back to her book with a pointed huff. 

Hermione didn’t trust the look in his eye as he said, “Don’t mind if I do.” 

She kept her eyes firmly on her book and prayed to Merlin that he had walked away to find his own breakfast. Again, no such luck. 

_ Screeeeeeeeeech _ .

Her head whipped toward the noise of a metal table being dragged across the hard ground as Fred pulled the offending object next to her own. She glanced around and noticed the entire restaurant staring in their direction but he didn’t seem to notice. Or care.

“Ah, much better.” Fred dropped into a chair facing the opposite direction as her own so that they were side to side. Hermione hid her red face in her book as a waiter awkwardly came over to take Fred’s breakfast order. 

“I thought we agreed to not see each other while staying here?” 

She asked without looking at him but she still caught the shrug of his shoulders in her periphery. “You agreed, I just acknowledged your agreement. Come on, Granger.” He bumped her chair with his leg. “Spend the day with me. If you hate it, I’ll leave you alone for the rest of your stay. What do you say?”

Hermione closed her book, moved the napkin from her lap to the table, and stood looking down at a grinning Fred. 

“No, thank you.” With that, she spun on her heel and left the restaurant, intent on finding a quiet place to read. 

He found her again at dinner, once more disturbing the entire dining area, and asked her to spend the next day with him. She refrained from dumping her drink over his head for emphasis, but only just. 

The next morning, Hermione woke early for breakfast in hopes that she could eat and retreat before Fred arrived. Once more that hope was dashed; he wandered in half way through her first cup of tea and plopped down across from her.

“What is it going to take to get rid of you?” She sighed in defeat as he grabbed a pastry from her plate. 

“Spend the day with me. If it’s that terrible I’ll leave you alone.”

“Why are you so desperate to spend time with me? Where is George?”

“He stayed back home to mind the shop and I’m bored without someone to talk to. I went on that Black Pearl walking tour yesterday, it was boring as fuck and none of the muggles appreciated my jokes!”

“I’m surprised a hit wizard hasn’t shown up to take you away, there is no way you made it through a two hour tour with a bunch of muggles without blabbing something.”

Fred smirked. “Why don’t you come with me today to keep an eye on me? Come on, I want to go to the cave thingy on the other side of the island.” 

“Harrison’s cave? Oh, I’ve wanted to see that since planning this trip! I started researching it you know, and I found that it has a magical section! I mean, with formations such as The Great Hall and The Village, it was obviously influenced by someone who had attended Hogwarts and mmph…”

Hermione was cut off by Fred’s hand over her mouth. “Is that a yes? I need verbal consent here.” 

She shoved his hand away and huffed out a yes. 

“Yes!” Fred shouted, pumping his fist in the air, once again causing the people around them to stare. 

“You know if you keep this up, you’re going to get us banned from all dining areas.”

He grinned. “Is that a challenge?”

.oOo.

“Will you stop fidgeting?” Hermione whispered as Fred shifted next to her for what felt like the hundredth time. 

He pouted. “Can’t help it, this thing is slow. If I had a broom...” 

“Shhh!” Hermione cut him off and hoped the couple in front of them hadn’t heard the comment. The two of them were sitting near the back of a tram as it slowly made its way toward the mouth of the cave. Hermione had been enjoying the guide's speech on the history of the area but Fred wasn't interested at all. 

"Why did you even want to come here?" She hissed as he sighed. 

Fred shot her a glance. "Inspiration."

"You're not planning a prank on a bunch of muggles!" 

"Merlin no, give me some credit, woman."

"Not like you have the best track record."

Fred frowned. "Ignoring the muggle reference, do you really think so little of me?"

"Just forget it, we're going into the cave. Isn't that what you wanted?" 

His lips thinned but he didn't respond, instead looking at their surroundings. As they descended, even Fred appeared to be impressed with their surroundings as the beautifully lit rock formations passed by. Hermione did her best to ignore him and enjoy their surroundings when the guide announced they would be stopping in the Great Hall before going into The Village.

“Hey, did you hear that?” Fred nudged her. “Sounds a bit more wizard than muggle to me.”

“I’m sure it’s just a coincidence, Fred.”

He rolled his eyes. “And I suppose you researched this cave before leaving Britain and are now an expert?” 

“No, but I’m sure it’s nothing.” She waved her hand dismissively and attempted to pay attention to the tour guide. 

Fred was quiet a minute and she actually thought she might get to listen to a complete sentence… “Might make this a bit more interesting.” Fred cut in. “Can only see so many rocks.”

She whipped toward him and attempted a menacing scowl but before she could say anything the voice of the guide cut in. “As we come to a stop feel free to explore the Great Hall but stay in the marked areas.”

Hermione hopped out of the tram with a huff and walked away to explore an area away from the other tourists. And Fred. She wasn’t sure why he had been pushing so hard to spend time with her and the cave was his idea after all, so why was he acting like this? A fair amount of time had passed and she was vaguely aware of the guide’s five minute warning, but a spot on the wall had made her pause. Glancing around, she noticed no one was paying attention to her so she subtly withdrew her wand and began analysing the area. Engrossed as she was, she didn’t notice Fred come up behind her until he blew a breath on the back of her neck. Letting out a muffled shriek, Hermione stuffed her wand up her shirt sleeve and spun, only to meet sparking hazel eyes.

“What was that for?” She hissed, making sure no one was watching them in the shadowed corner as Fred withdrew his own wand and began casting his own set of diagnostics on the wall. 

“Strange.” He mumbled, brows drawn down into a thoughtful frown. “I can see what drew you over here, this entire area has a magical signature.”

She waited for him to say ‘I told you so’ but he was too focused on his wandwork as he cast ever more rapidly at the wall. 

“Fred, I think we need to get back to the tram, people are starting to board.”

“Nearly there, nearly there. Ah ha!” He exclaimed in excitement as an archway shimmered into existence. He stepped through eagerly and with one last nervous glance over her shoulder, Hermione followed him into the darkness. 

“Fred!” She whispered, following his lit wand down a passage. “Fred, we have to go back!”

“Why are you whispering? It’s obvious this is a magic only section, no muggles should be around to hear us.” He ducked around another corner and she had no choice but to follow, unwilling to let him get lost somewhere alone. Although that thought left her worried. 

“How are we going to get back?” She asked.

“Easy, just go back the way we came!” He answered, voice echoing as they entered what sounded like a cavern. “Lumos maxima!” A ball of light shot from Fred’s wand illuminating the space. There was a series of doorways, all with runes etched above them, but as Hermione emerged from their entrance, the ground began to shake. She lost her balance, hearing Fred call out for her as one of the stalactites broke loose from the ceiling and crashed down next to her. Hermione closed her eyes as dust rose, expecting to be crushed by falling rocks, but the tremors subsided and she was safe. Hermione tried to blink through the dust as her ears gradually stopped ringing. 

“Fred?” 

The only answer was screaming. Screaming that made her freeze, heart in her throat as she thought of all that could have just gone wrong.

“Fred!”

The screaming continued, shaking her from her inaction as she sprinted over debris to where she last saw him. 

“No, no, no, no.” She was chanting as she started levitating rocks out of her path. Finally enough dust settled that she could make out a flash of red hair. 

“Oh Fred.” She murmured as she dropped to her knees at his side. 

He was curled into a ball, and Hermione felt her heart break as she made out words mixed in with his screams. “No, not again, Georgie help me, not the rocks, not again, please help me!” 

Gently Hermione reached a hand out to rub his shoulder but he flinched away at her touch. 

“Fred? You’re alright, you’re safe.” She kept talking to him, murmuring nothings as he began to calm down. As his body stopped shaking she pulled him up into a sitting position next to her, cradling his face in her hands. “Hey, look at me.” Slowly his eyes focused on hers and she took his hand, laying it on her chest and took an exaggerated breath. “Breathe with me.” 

They sat like that for a time, every time her chest rose under his hand, he would echo shakily until his breaths evened out and he drew back, averting his eyes in shame. 

He rasped out an apology and made to stand but Hermione grabbed his hand as it withdrew. “What happened?”

Fred shook his head, jaw clenched. 

Hermione whispered, “Was it the wall?” 

Angry blue eyes whipped to hers. “And what of it?” 

“It’s okay to be scared. I still have nightmares from…”

“You know nothing!” He shouted, lips curled into an uncharacteristic snear. “You know nothing but you think you know everything, don’t you? Know it all Hermione Granger thinks she knows best for everyone.” Her jaw dropped as she was confronted with a version of Fred that she had never encountered before. “I didn’t even want to come to this bloody cave!”

That brought her out of her momentary shock as she started to get angry. “What do you mean? This was your idea!”

“No it wasn’t! I just said cave, it was you that picked this damn death trap! You never even gave me a chance to talk.”

“You didn’t have to come along!” She shouted, stepping into his space and poking him in the chest. “No, you were so desperate to spend time with me, Merlin knows why, that you jumped at the chance. Well here we are, isn’t this fun?”

“Fucking hell Hermione, can you blame a bloke for wanting a bit of company? I thought we were friends. Maybe not good friends but all that time with my family had to count for something, right?”

“Friends? A friend would have been there for me when Stephen,” She choked on the name before ploughing on. “When he got back together with his old girlfriend during graduation and was  _ magnanimous  _ enough to tell me about it before he left with her to go have sex!” 

Fred blinked as some of the fight left him. “Cornfoot is an ass.” 

“You think I don’t know that?” Hermione was shrieking now but she was past caring as her anger ratcheted up. “He picked his ex over me, the girl that had been by his side after losing his parents when mine were gone too! The girl that put him back together only for him to turn around and take fucking Sally-Anne Perks to bed as soon as he felt whole again. Tell me,  _ friend, _ ” she emphasized nastily, “Where were you when all this was happening? Where was Harry or Ron or anyone?”

He stared guiltily at her for a moment and she turned her back on him. “That’s what I thought.”

.oOo.

The tour would have been over by now, Hermione thought as she sat in a corner of the room. Obviously no one had come looking for them, nor would they be found by someone without magic. She knew in order to escape they would have to find their own way out, but she had been too busy wallowing ever since her fight with Fred. 

How dare he? 

How dare he get in her face about something he knew nothing about and how dare he bring up bad memories for her when all she wanted to do was forget. She wanted to forget how Stephen had started out as nothing more than a study partner during eighth year before turning into a good friend. She wanted to forget all the late night talks when neither one could sleep and he would confide in her that he felt too broken for a relationship. How eventually she helped him heal and they morphed from friends into something more. Something that started to fill the hole in Hermione’s heart and made her think that happy endings were possible. And then those thoughts ended when Stephen came to her just before the graduation ceremony and thanked her for the past months, for making him see that he deserved love and happiness when so many people would never have the chance at theirs- like his parents. She was so certain that he was going to ask her to move in with him; instead, he told her that he was getting back together with Sally-Anne, that  _ they _ were moving in together right after the ceremony. 

Hermione let out a shuddering breath as she thought of how Fred hadn’t known any of this and that he was obviously still suffering with his own demons after the war. It wasn’t his fault they were in this mess, not really. She was the one that had gone poking into strange magical signatures in a cave. 

A scuff on the floor brought Hermione out of her thoughts and she looked up to see Fred standing over her, still covered in dust from the earlier semi cave in. 

“I’m sorry.” They both spoke at once. 

He let out a chuckle and shook his head. “It was my fault for wandering down that passage.”

Hermione shrugged. “I found it in the first place. I’m sorry I yelled at you, I’ve been bottling up a lot these last few months.”

Fred held out a hand to help her off the dusty floor. “Let’s just move on, yeah? We still need to get out of here and I’m getting hungry.”

Hermione bumped his shoulder. “You Weasley men and food.”

“You know it, love. Now, what do you reckon those symbols mean?” He pointed at the marks scratched above each archway. 

Hermione frowned, walking from archway to archway. They looked like runes but they had been altered, as if written in a different language. Eventually she managed to put enough together to make a guess. “I think they’re names. I remember reading a bit about Hatian culture when I was deciding which island to visit and if I’m right…” She trailed off a moment. “Yes, this is Nago Ioa. A hunter.” She went around translating names until she came to “Erzulie.”

“Um, Hermione?”

“Yes?”

“Do you smell pork down this archway?”

She sniffed. “And rum? Do you think this path leads to a magical restaurant?”

“Only one way to find out.” Fred lit his wand and started down the tunnel.

“Wait!” Hermione caught up and grabbed his arm. “How do we know whoever it is is even friendly?”

A rumble reached them and as they turned to look behind them, they were met with solid darkness. The archway was gone. 

She heard Fred swallow. “Guess there’s only one way to go then, yeah? Good thing I’m with the brightest witch of the century and all that rot.”

Hermione rolled her eyes but kept close to Fred as they made their way down the tunnel, the smell of cooked pork and rum growing stronger. The combination was eating at the back of her mind, she felt like she had read about something like this before. Then again, they were in the Caribbean, the smell of pork and rum was everywhere. 

“I see light ahead!” Fred exclaimed and lowered his wand. The two of them entered another cavern cautiously; it was small but lit with a reddish light from somewhere. There was a small cluster of stalagmites that were shaped like a picture Hermione had seen…

“The Altar!” 

“In the mood for a sacrifice?”

“No, didn’t you look at any of the pictures in the brochure? This was in there, it’s called The Altar. It means we can follow the tram tracks back to the entrance.”

“Good plan but I don’t see any tracks around here.” He looked behind them and his eyes widened. “I don’t even see a way out.”

Her heart sunk. They were trapped once again, this time in a room with a limited amount of air.  _ What is going on _ ? She thought desperately as she began casting spells around the cavern, Fred joining in. 

Hermione exclaimed as they both cast spells at The Altar at the same time and it began to glow, words scrolling across the surface of the largest rock that made up the formation. They glanced at each other before moving closer to inspect the words:

_ Welcome chosen few  _

_ Magic has led you here to _

_ Have fate seal your bond _

_ Welcome to blessed souls _

_ Two must enter, one will leave _

_ Bonded together _

_ Welcome sweet lovers _

_ Anoint the altar in blood _

_ Leave this place, soul bound _


End file.
